tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36417680656203918852016-12-09T08:11:23.183-07:00The Daily EconomistFinancial news and economic items of interestKenneth Schortgen Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04471909868089426959noreply@blogger.comBlogger1577125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641768065620391885.post-55268461519511021012016-12-07T19:36:00.000-07:002016-12-07T19:36:13.441-07:00India takes war on cash to next level as they begin direct raids and confiscation of gold, jewelry, and cash from the peopleMake no mistake, the government of India has declared war on its people, and only time will tell if their actions lead to a full scale revolution.<br /><br />Back in November Prime Minister Modi declared the top two denominations of currency to no longer be valid as legal tender, and the populace had until Dec. 15 to turn in their monetary notes to their local bank. &nbsp;However, this was met with a combination of trepidation and anger as the Indian economy runs primary on cash for transactions, with an estimated 98% of all commerce occurring using physical currency.<br /><br />In response Modi suddenly cut short the time frame in which the people could trade in their now outdated bills and as a result, the people have rushed to jewelers to trade their stash of currency for gold and gold products.<br /><br />And now we are finding out that the initial war on cash has suddenly shifted to a total war on wealth, or at the very least, a war on gold as news of armed raids on people, their homes, and their gold by the government is coming out from on the ground reports.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user3303/imageroot/2016/11/23/india%20photos%203.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><blockquote class="tr_bq">Global financial repression picks up steam, led by India. After declaring large denomination notes illegal, India now targets gold.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">It’s not just gold bars or bullion. The government has raided houses, no questions asked, confiscating jewelry.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">For background to this article, please see my&nbsp;<a href="https://mishtalk.com/2016/11/27/cash-chaos-in-india-86-of-money-in-circulation-withdrawn-cash-still-king-in-japan/" target="_blank">November 27 article Cash Chaos in India, 86% of Money in Circulation Withdrawn; Cash Still King in Japan</a>.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Large denomination means 500-rupee ($7.30) and 1,000-rupee notes ($14.60), which account for more than 85 percent of the money supply. They are no longer legal tender, effective immediately.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">As one might imagine, chaos ensued. And it continues. - <a href="https://mishtalk.com/2016/12/07/india-confiscates-gold-even-jewelry-in-raids-on-hidden-money/" target="_blank">Mish Talk</a></blockquote></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5BaPyOgdphU" width="560"></iframe>Kenneth Schortgen Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04471909868089426959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641768065620391885.post-1791925092329093172016-12-07T12:26:00.001-07:002016-12-07T12:26:10.112-07:00Despite fall in paper price, gold demand at 5 year high as fears of a supply shortage causing global scramble for the metalBy now most precious metals investors should have realized that the old standard 'spot price' that once dominated gold and silver is on its way out, and acts as little more than a paper value for derivative contracts. &nbsp;And this can be seen by the price divergence in spreads between the London Fix, and its competition over in China at the Shanghai market.<br /><br />But until the London/Comex price is gone for good it still controls the buying and selling costs here in the West. &nbsp;And thanks to the tremendous shorting that has occurred in the paper markets since the Presidential election that took place on Nov. 8, the over $200 drop in price has done little to depress the appetite of gold purchases as the month of November saw the highest amount of buying in the last five years.<br /><div class="MsoNormal"><blockquote class="tr_bq">Gold demand in November soared to its highest level since the end of 2011 as investors took advantage of a steep drop in prices for the yellow metal following Donald Trump’s win in the U.S. election, according to data from BullionVault released Tuesday.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">The Gold Investor Index, run by Internet-based metals exchange operator BullionVault, jumped to 59.3 in November—its highest level since December 2011. the index stood at 56.8 in October. - <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-appetite-hit-a-5-year-high-in-november-as-prices-tumbled-2016-12-06" target="_blank">Marketwatch</a></blockquote><o:p></o:p></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://ei.marketwatch.com//Multimedia/2016/12/06/Photos/NS/MW-FB397_bullio_20161206111701_NS.png?uuid=6b885d18-bbcf-11e6-b2f1-001cc448aede" height="292" width="400" /></div><div style="text-align: left;">What is making up this increased demand for gold are not just China and Russia, who have continued their massive buying of gold through November of this year, but the inclusion of several other nations such as Britain, Vietnam, the U.S., and of course, India, who have joined in to start exchanging their currencies for gold in their reserves.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Much of this buying is also coming from the fact that outside the dollar, people are losing confidence in global currencies, especially after this year's Brexit event, Venezuelan hyperinflation, and the more recent attack on cash by India's Prime Minister Modi. &nbsp;And the increase in purchasing worldwide has suddenly revealed incredible shortages that could soon be the catalyst for breaking Comex control over their depressing the spot price of gold.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><blockquote class="tr_bq">“For the first time in history, gold supply into the future is under enormous pressure.” The warning from Mark Bristow, chief executive of London-listed Randgold, encapsulates the gold mining sector’s woes.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Bullion’s only modest price recovery this year compared with other commodities has led the industry to cut spending on exploration dramatically to less than $4bn from almost $10bn in 2012.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Petropavlovsk, a gold miner with assets in Russia, is a case in point. It has cut its exploration budget by two-thirds.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">“There is a chronic shortage of exploration money and as usual the gold price is not acting in the way everyone thought it would do,” says Peter Hambro, chairman of the company.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">This backdrop has left many in the industry forecasting a supply shortage by the end of the decade. - <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/9536ff90-b641-11e6-961e-a1acd97f622d" target="_blank">Financial Times</a></blockquote></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/9536ff90-b641-11e6-961e-a1acd97f622d" target="_blank"><o:p></o:p></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/9536ff90-b641-11e6-961e-a1acd97f622d" target="_blank"><o:p></o:p></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">As an investor it is not the time to be fooled by the paper selloffs or shorting that is occurring in the Comex and other Western markets, but rather a time to take a serious look at supply and demand, and the consequences of dying confidence in most global currencies. &nbsp;Because the lowered price that is also being coupled with dwindling supply right now is a an opportunity of the decade for the precious metals, and should prove to be very profitable once the world moves completely away from London and New York's control over the market.<br /><br /></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fZuHArvF1zU" width="560"></iframe>Kenneth Schortgen Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04471909868089426959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641768065620391885.post-43865934237455495362016-12-06T08:27:00.001-07:002016-12-06T08:27:39.559-07:00Islamic council overseeing Sharia finance approves new gold standard for Muslim investingFollowing a month of open discussion and commentary, the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) has officially approved a new gold standard under Sharia financial law on Dec. 5.<br /><br />Coordinating with the World Gold Council for much of 2016, the AAOIFI has formulated the processes and procedures for the 1.6 billion Muslims around the world, and in particular the 110 million Muslims who participate in active investing, to be able to purchase, own, and invest in physical gold and gold based products such as mining shares.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="image" src="http://stories-etc.com/gold-vending.jpg" /></div><blockquote class="tr_bq">The sharia gold standard announced yesterday allows the over 110 million investors in the Islamic world to invest in:&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">a) vaulted gold&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">b) gold savings plans (such as GoldCore's GoldSaver)&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">c) gold certificates&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">d) physical gold ETFs including "probably" the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest exchange-traded gold (GLD)&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">e) gold mining shares (within certain Shari’ah parameters)&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">We know three things that the new Shariah gold-standard will achieve:&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">a) Increase diversity in the number of available Shariah gold compliant investment products&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">b) Greater emphasis on the role of physical gold in gold transactions&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">c) Islamic finance will have greater say in the setting of the gold price&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">To some, this may appear to be an unnecessary formality taken by the body whose guidelines are followed by Islamic finance institutions across the world. After all, physical gold is Shariah-compliant and holds a unique status for Muslims.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">AAIOFI states, "From the perspective of Islamic Fiqh and the Islamic economic system, gold has its specific significance. This significance arises from the specific principles provided for gold and silver as Thaman in Shari'ah."&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">According to Islamic texts, gold is a ribawi item, which means that it must be sold on weight and measure, and cannot be traded for future value or for speculation. In order for a gold instrument to be Shariah-compliant, the precious metal must be the underlying asset in related transactions. - Goldcore via <a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-12-06/shariah-gold-standard-approved-2-trillion-islamic-finance-market" target="_blank">Zerohedge</a></blockquote><div class="MsoNormal">Perhaps one of the most interesting caveats in the new procedures for gold ownership and investment is the demand for Islam to have a greater say in the setting of the gold price. &nbsp;And since we already now have a divergence out of Shanghai from the long-standing price determination set in London and New York each day, the potential of a third completely independent market could soon emerge in places like Dubai, Tehran, Indonesia, and even Saudi Arabia.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/X879EXPfLC4" width="560"></iframe>Kenneth Schortgen Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04471909868089426959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641768065620391885.post-59563276294414544702016-12-05T08:30:00.000-07:002016-12-05T08:30:13.251-07:00Turkey calls for citizens to dump their dollars and buy gold or lira as country looks to establish trade using own currencyIt is still up in the air whether the failed coup that took place earlier this year in Turkey was from an outside agency, an Erdogan created false flag, or a grass roots engineered event. &nbsp;But whatever the reason, the leader of Turkey has used this attempt to oust him from power as the impetus to initiate a pivot away from the U.S..<br /><br />Shortly after the coup attempt back in July, Erdogan purged the government of any pro-U.S. officials and even threatened the long-standing NATO base housed in Ankara. &nbsp;This of course forced Washington to move their missile cache held in Ankara to other locations, and for all intents and purposes exit a key regional position on the frontier of Russia which was had been used to try to isolate the Eurasian power.<br /><br />But now it appears that this was just the first step by Erdogan in a new foreign policy where he is seeking to disassociate the country completely from the United States, and to solidify even greater ties with Russia and their growing Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). &nbsp;And to do this he is now calling on all of Turkey's businesses and citizens to dump their dollar holdings and use the proceeds to buy gold or Lira as the end game looks to be a move towards establishing direct bi-lateral trade with Eurasia without the need for the U.S. dollar as a reserve currency medium.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WcZcJ5Xl1qI/WEWGXlQ9ByI/AAAAAAAAEJE/O8ECq7PpLKMA00Ookt8YSFuR6-mTuGxnwCLcB/s1600/gold%2Bvs%2Bdollar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="398" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WcZcJ5Xl1qI/WEWGXlQ9ByI/AAAAAAAAEJE/O8ECq7PpLKMA00Ookt8YSFuR6-mTuGxnwCLcB/s400/gold%2Bvs%2Bdollar.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><blockquote class="tr_bq">Normally, any other country would find itself in a dilemma: how to lower rates as per the president's demands to stimulate investment and the economy, without killing the economy... but not Erdogan. As AFP notes, the Turkish president "urged" his fellow Turks on Friday to convert their foreign currencies into gold and lira to stimulate the country's economy as the lira continued its slide against the dollar.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">"For those who have foreign currencies under the pillow, come change this to gold, come change this to Turkish lira. Let the lira win greater value. Let gold win greater value," he said during a televised speech in Ankara. - <a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-12-02/erdogan-demands-turks-exchange-their-dollars-gold-lira" target="_blank">Zerohedge</a></blockquote><o:p></o:p></div>It is doubtful that President Erdogan has an acute understanding of finance, or what the devaluing of their currency means for their economy, but perhaps the real answer lies in the fact that the dollar's recent strength over the past month is creating the same monetary conditions that led to the Arab Spring events of five years ago, where a number of Middle Eastern governments were unable to afford to purchase dollars which could be used to buy commodities such as food to feed their hungry populations.<br /><br />Thus the inevitable answer for Turkey (and others) appears to be in disassociating themselves completely from the dollar, and in negotiating new trade agreements in partnerships such as the EEU, through which they can use their own currencies that bypass the dollar.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img height="233" src="http://www.secretsofthefed.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Russia-and-China-against-US.jpg" width="400" /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><blockquote class="tr_bq">"For those who have foreign currencies under the pillow, come change this to gold, come change this to Turkish lira. Let the lira win greater value. Let gold win greater value," he said during a televised speech in Ankara.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Then overnight, Turkey continued its crusade against high rates, so critical to keep the currency from foundering, when it announced it would prevent companies from borrowing at high rates. The measure will be part of a broader package of economic steps due to be announced Thursday, according to state-run Anadolu Agency which cited Deputy PM Veysi Kaynak as saying in an interview on CNNTurk.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">“The rise in the dollar is certainly important, but the rise in interest is affecting our companies very quickly.” He added that the “prime minister will explain a package of measures that will touch the daily lives of our people,” and “relieve our companies financially,” including our banks."&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">It was not exactly clear how government pressure to lower rates would help the plunging currency, however, in a surprising twist, one which likely seeks to isolate the Turkis Lira from its dependency on the US dollar, Erdogan said on Sunday that Turkey is taking steps to allow commerce with China, Russia and Iran to be conducted in local currencies, in what Reuters dubbed "the government's latest effort to shore up the tumbling lira."&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Speaking at the opening ceremony of a shopping mall in Istanbul, Erdo?an said that he had proposed Russian President Vladimir Putin to conduct trade between the two countries with local currencies. - <a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-12-04/turkey-proposes-trade-china-russia-and-iran-local-currencies" target="_blank">Zerohedge</a></blockquote><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div>For years Turkey has been an important nexus point for both Europe and the United States as NATO used that frontier to Eurasia as a key juncture in both the Cold War, and in today's foreign policy to isolate Russia. &nbsp;However, with Moscow offering much more accommodation to economic growth than what the West has provided in recent years, Turkey is now seeing their future as one standing outside the dollar, and is preparing for a pivot East that is laden with gold and bi-lateral trade.<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xNy70WnR_js" width="560"></iframe>Kenneth Schortgen Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04471909868089426959noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641768065620391885.post-7266479931913272782016-12-03T12:52:00.000-07:002016-12-03T12:52:10.561-07:00December Web bot report forecasts new round of banker deaths as pedophilia and Pizzagate publicly explodes in 2017The Web Bot project is a computer algorithm created and run by a gentleman named Cliff High, and has proven to be an effective forecaster of future events based on the emotional, spiritual, and logical language from people around the world through their internet communications.<br /><br />In regards to recent forecasts that were accurately determined, the Web Bots predicted an easy victory for Donald Trump in the 2016 Presidential election while the <a href="http://www.theeventchronicle.com/intel/webbot-forecast-november-2016-march-2017/#" target="_blank">March Web Bot report forecasted</a> a divergence beginning in gold pricing between London and Shanghai that would take place around November.<br /><br />And if anyone has been reading articles posted here at the Daily Economist over the past month on the spreads for gold prices, you would see that this forecast on gold by the Web Bots was dead on.<br /><br />Which brings us to an interesting new prediction that is coming out of the December Web Bot Report, and it entails the growing scandal that the media is attempting to cover up at all costs. &nbsp;That scandal of course is known as Pizzagate, and it relates to the revelations discovered in the Podesta emails of a worldwide pedophilia ring that encompasses all aspects of the global elite.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Image result for pizzagate" height="349" src="http://i0.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/021/666/image31.png" width="400" /></div><b><br /></b><b>Web Bot Summary for December 2016:</b><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">In the bonds subset, the sets are denoting a giant amount of chatter around the subject globally. &nbsp;There are a number of geographic centers in the forecast globally that are all Western power centers, however there are also sets clustering around Saudi Arabia, Russia, and many Asian nations.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">There are also more sets accruing for the bonds and crisis globally set.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Other far more lasting social changes are forecast to be 'bitch slapping' the dollar as the deflationary event of early 2017 slows, and as the pedophilia rings of the upper echelons of finance and banking will be reeling the #pizzagate scandal, as it rolls on and over many of the world's most powerful money people.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">The data sets are forecasting that <b>another suicide wave will be visible over December and January as there is a hurried attempt to stop or block off the trails to power</b>.</blockquote><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Image result for banker deaths" height="225" src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/EwPI5ZyuzfQ/maxresdefault.jpg" width="400" /></div><br />Keep in mind that the Web Bots massively nailed the banker suicide phenomenon that occurred a few years ago.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Sammy Davis Jr. with Anton LaVey, the head of the Church of Satan - a powerful organization that put a &quot;Hollywood&quot; facade on hardcore Satanism." height="262" src="http://vigilantcitizen.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/13.jpg" width="400" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Sammy Davis Jr. and Satanist Anton LaVey</i></b></div><br />It is difficult for most people to wrap their heads around the idea that a global consortium of elite could be involved in a massive pedophilia and ritualistic program that has been happening for decades if not centuries in the Western world. &nbsp;But all one needs to do is remember the scandals that broke out just in the last decade about the widespread pedophilia among Catholic priests that went on for decades and you realize that the Vatican itself is considered one of the centers of the world elites, and many even in power today had <a href="http://vigilantcitizen.com/vigilantreport/hidden-life-kennedys-elite-dynasty-got-decimated-pt-ii/" target="_blank">associations with satanic influences such as Anton LaVey</a>.<br /><br />The revelations concerning bankers, politicians, and other members of the elite involved in pedophilia and child sacrifice are just now being discovered, and the veil of secrecy is slowly being torn down using the very emails of those intrinsically involved in these horrific activities. &nbsp;And just as it appears that the powers that be may have decided to keep Hillary Clinton from getting into the Presidency out of fear of what else might be revealed regarding Pizzagate, the chances of even more murders, 'suicides', and the cutting off of loose ends may soon be coming according to the Web Bots as the scandal of the new century gets more legs and finds more investigations erupting.<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9WrN1UbVtWg" width="560"></iframe>Kenneth Schortgen Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04471909868089426959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641768065620391885.post-15134925232773272682016-12-03T09:21:00.001-07:002016-12-03T09:21:28.709-07:00Demand for gold in the U.S., China, and India on fire as lack of trust in currencies signal a new coming crisisIn just the past month, and especially since the Nov. 8 Presidential election, the demand for gold throughout the world has increased at a rapid pace.<br /><br />We have already documented the <a href="http://www.thedailyeconomist.com/2016/11/price-of-gold-in-dollars-well-over-3600.html" target="_blank">intense scramble for gold in India</a> over the past three weeks as Prime Minister Modi began implementing the banning of some cash, and the institution of capital controls. But even with the selling off of gold in the Western paper markets that has seen the spot price drop by more than $200 in the past four weeks, it has done nothing to effect the physical gold markets where premiums have spiked to three year highs, and where a record number of U.S. gold eagles have been sold just in November by the U.S. Mint.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="u-s-mint-gold-eagle-sales-2016" height="286" src="https://srsroccoreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/U.S.-Mint-Gold-Eagle-Sales-2016.png" width="400" /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Graphic courtesy of SRS Rocco Report</i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><blockquote class="tr_bq">Investment demand for Gold Eagles surged during the last day in November pushing sales to a new monthly record.&nbsp; Not only did Gold Eagle sales for November reach a new record high for the year, it surpassed sales during the same month last year by 52%.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">It seems as if investors are once again taking advantage of lower gold prices.&nbsp; I had planned to publish the article on Wednesday (last day of the month) showing that November sales hit a new record high, but the U.S. Mint updated their figures yesterday reporting another 20,000 Gold Eagles oz were sold on the 30th.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">So, as of Nov 29th, the U.S. Mint Gold Eagle sales reached a new high for the year of 127,500 oz.&nbsp; Then they sold another stunning 20,000 oz in one day for a total of 147,500 Gold Eagle oz for November: - <a href="https://srsroccoreport.com/investors-push-gold-eagle-sales-to-record-high-commentary-on-precious-metals-sentiment/" target="_blank">SRS Rocco Report</a></blockquote><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div>Over in China the process to exchange dollars for gold has shifted into high gear as the country that runs the world's largest physical gold market dumped hundreds of billions of dollars worth of Treasury reserves and used them to <a href="https://www.bullionstar.com/blogs/koos-jansen/q1-q3-2016-china-net-gold-import-hits-905-tonnes/" target="_blank">import nearly 1,000 tons of gold</a> in just in the last quarter. &nbsp;And <a href="http://www.thedailyeconomist.com/2016/12/the-difference-between-london-paper.html" target="_blank">premiums at the Shanghai Gold Exchange have soared to well over $30 per ounce</a> as seen by the spread enacted between the Shanghai and London AM/PM price fixes.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7mDG7FcdkxA/WELvADRHzWI/AAAAAAAAEI0/2pUx0ublW6YE_DutATjg4ogCGo1ewLk5ACLcB/s1600/chinadollar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="325" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7mDG7FcdkxA/WELvADRHzWI/AAAAAAAAEI0/2pUx0ublW6YE_DutATjg4ogCGo1ewLk5ACLcB/s400/chinadollar.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><blockquote class="tr_bq">While paper gold traders can't seem to dump the precious metal fast enough, physical gold demand is soaring around the world. India retail premiums are spiking (amid demonetization), local China premiums soar to a 3-year-high (as capital controls loom), and coin sales from the US Mint have risen for the 4th straight month, accelerating post-election to the highest since July 2015 since Trump's victory at the election.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Following the initial panic-buying across India after Modi's demonetization effort shook the nation's faith in fiat currency (sending local gold premiums soaring), news of reported gold import curbs in China (and looming capital controls) has sent gold premiums in China near three-year highs amid limited supply of the precious metal (as Reuters reports)...&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">The import curbs may be part of China's efforts to limit outflows of the yuan after the currency's slide to its weakest in more than eight years, traders say. China allows only 15 banks to import gold, including three foreign lenders.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">"There is severe restriction on the banks' quota to import gold into China. Each one of them have to justify their need," a Hong Kong-based banker said.<br />Gold was sold in China at about $24 an ounce above the international spot benchmark this week. Premiums went as high as $30 last week, the most since January 2014, according to Thomson Reuters data. - <a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-12-02/buy-dip-us-gold-coin-sales-soar-highest-16-months-china-premium-spikes-3-year-highs" target="_blank">Zerohedge</a></blockquote>When a market or sovereign government manipulates the price of a commodity, security, or equity contrary to the demand of that asset, the end result is always the same... a run on those assets similar to the way a populace would rush to clean out a grocery store in the advent of a natural disaster. &nbsp;And as nearly all global currencies start to be rejected by their people in lieu of this year's concerted efforts to ban or restrict the use of cash, the worldwide run on gold appears now to be in full swing, and only 1% of the global population is aware of it.<br /><br /></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/T7VD2z7jDNg" width="560"></iframe>Kenneth Schortgen Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04471909868089426959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641768065620391885.post-33852156564941728792016-12-01T10:48:00.000-07:002016-12-01T10:48:27.632-07:00The difference between London paper price and Shanghai physical price now expanded to $32As the dollar continues to stay above 101 on the index, the spot price of gold continues to get crushed in the Western paper markets. &nbsp;In fact, ever since Nov. 9 when Donald Trump was declared to become the next President of the United States, gold has fallen over $200 despite increased demand in places like India, Russia, and Vietnam.<br /><br />But starting back in April, London was no longer the only entity setting a daily price 'fix' for gold as the Shanghai Gold Exchange officially began its own price fix earlier this year to manage the trading of the precious metal during periods when both Europe and the U.S. were closed.<br /><br />And for the rest of spring and well into summer, the spread between the two markets stayed relatively the same, with the London fix and the Shanghai fix only diverging by perhaps a dollar or two on any given day. &nbsp;But over the past three weeks this has now changed as the spread between the Western paper market and the Eastern physical one has climbed to a massive $32 difference in the fix price.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9ZxqoZ4ZU_I/WEBhhpxXNOI/AAAAAAAAEIk/N9RxdxS3caI4WR55tnAhoVzz67ArALHSwCLcB/s1600/china%2Bdollar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9ZxqoZ4ZU_I/WEBhhpxXNOI/AAAAAAAAEIk/N9RxdxS3caI4WR55tnAhoVzz67ArALHSwCLcB/s400/china%2Bdollar.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Shanghai PM Gold Fix - Dec. 1, 2016</b></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oqSMErGmDv8/WEBe8FM_TlI/AAAAAAAAEIU/R3wHh3xl2xg7IBsXQF27CauaxJv4o2gqwCLcB/s1600/SGE%2BFix.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="110" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oqSMErGmDv8/WEBe8FM_TlI/AAAAAAAAEIU/R3wHh3xl2xg7IBsXQF27CauaxJv4o2gqwCLcB/s400/SGE%2BFix.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>London AM Gold Fix - Dec. 1, 2016</b></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EP3dzkD66EU/WEBfJoTMfeI/AAAAAAAAEIY/yj9YSuI8EIs-97ny2aVU1gKPiJNAEhLugCLcB/s1600/London%2BFix.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="81" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EP3dzkD66EU/WEBfJoTMfeI/AAAAAAAAEIY/yj9YSuI8EIs-97ny2aVU1gKPiJNAEhLugCLcB/s400/London%2BFix.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />As you can see from the price, the spread has now reached just under $32 per ounce difference.<br /><br />If the spread continues to widen even further then it will open up two potentially lethal events for the LBMA and the COMEX. &nbsp;First, it will cause miners who normally sell their gold production through these commodity exchanges to instead find it much more profitable to ship their metal to China and sell it on the SGE. &nbsp;And secondly, the potential for a massive arbitrage will come into play where one or more big investors will buy up all the gold futures contracts and demand physical delivery at the lower paper price, which they will then sell their gold over in China and pocket the difference as profit.<br /><br />For decades now the Western gold futures markets have been a vehicle in which central banks and the U.S. Treasury have manipulated gold prices in a scheme used to protect the dollar, especially during this era of massive money printing and zero percent interest rates. &nbsp;But now that China has taken over as the world's largest physical gold market, more and more they are coming to set their own price for the metal, and it should not be too long before they officially wrest that authority away from both London and New York.<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xNy70WnR_js" width="560"></iframe>Kenneth Schortgen Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04471909868089426959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641768065620391885.post-65134008584572420602016-11-29T07:52:00.002-07:002016-11-29T07:52:39.490-07:00Donald Trump interviewing a potential Treasury Secretary who advocates gold standard and ending the FedIf there is one thing you can say about President-Elect Donald Trump so far is that he has been very thorough in interviewing candidates for his administration. &nbsp;From appointing a loyal supporter like Dr. Ben Carson to the position of Director of HUD while at the same time dumping former loyalist Chris Christie, to being willing to listen to and talk with a staunch adversary like Mitt Romney, to date Trump is sticking to his word in trying to finding the best person for the job no matter what side of the aisle they are on.<br /><br />Yet one cabinet position remaining to be filled in his administration has seen as much contention as that of Secretary of State. &nbsp;And so far the only real candidates interviewed have been those from the establishment, and tied to the banking cabal that are at the core of Washington's elite swamp.<br /><br />Until now.<br /><br />On Nov. 28 Donald Trump met with the former CEO of BB&amp;T to perhaps discuss his potential to become the next Secretary of the Treasury. &nbsp;And what makes John Allison unique is that as opposed to a banker from Goldman Sachs or J.P. Morgan who would strive to keep the status quo, Allison is a staunch advocate of returning the monetary system to a gold standard, and eliminating the Federal Reserve as the country's money printer.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-O7nxKL0IUY0/WD2VXM6HZrI/AAAAAAAAEIE/r6Jknz-Byj4gucmRl7qWnbuh2mFUvNNRwCLcB/s1600/us%2Bgold.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-O7nxKL0IUY0/WD2VXM6HZrI/AAAAAAAAEIE/r6Jknz-Byj4gucmRl7qWnbuh2mFUvNNRwCLcB/s400/us%2Bgold.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><blockquote class="tr_bq">On Monday, Trump will meet with John Allison, the former CEO of the bank BB&amp;T and of the libertarian think tank the Cato Institute.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">There have&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/donald-trump-to-meet-monday-with-potential-picks-for-top-financial-policy-jobs-1480109063">been reports</a>&nbsp;that Allison is being considered for&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-11-23/ex-bb-t-ceo-allison-said-to-be-in-running-for-top-treasury-job">Treasury secretary</a>.<br />Trump's has on the campaign trail questioned the future of the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/final-nail-in-coffin-for-federal-reserve-central-bank-independence-2016-11">Federal Reserve's political independence</a>, but Allison takes that rhetoric a step further. While running the the Cato Institute, Allison wrote a paper in support of abolishing the Fed.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">"I would get rid of the Federal Reserve because the volatility in the economy is primarily caused by the Fed," Allison wrote in&nbsp;<a href="https://object.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/serials/files/cato-journal/2014/5/cato-journal-v34n2-9.pdf">2014 for the Cato Journal</a>, a publication of the institute.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Allison said that simply allowing the market to regulate itself would be preferable to the Fed harming the stability of the financial system.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">"When the Fed is radically changing the money supply, distorting interest rates, and over-regulating the financial sector, it makes rational economic calculation difficult,"&nbsp;<a href="https://object.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/serials/files/cato-journal/2014/5/cato-journal-v34n2-9.pdf">Allison wrote</a>. "Markets do form bubbles, but the Fed makes them worse."&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Allison also suggested that the government's practice of insuring bank deposits up to $250,000 should be abolished and the US should go back to a banking system backed by "a market standard such as gold." – <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-meeting-john-allison-bank-ceo-abolish-the-fed-gold-standard-2016-11" target="_blank">Business Insider</a></blockquote></div>What makes John Allison different than the string of too big to fail bank executives that have proliferated the office of the Treasury over the last several administrations is that BB&amp;T is considered to be a mid-size regional bank, and not among the protected financial oligarchies that have a history of fraud and corruption, and who are reliant upon the expansion of cheap credit from the Fed to be able to continue running their criminal schemes.<br /><br />With both Russia and China very open to a return to some form of a gold standard in international trade or reserve currency standard, the confirmation of a pro-gold standard Secretary of the Treasury would go a long way in helping Donald Trump to negotiate a currency reset to deal with the untenable debt that both the U.S. and most of the world are being suffocated under. &nbsp;And this would also mean that the gold price would finally be released to climb to its true value, as the supply of metal would need to be valued much much higher to backstop the amount of currency and debt that are currently floating around the global financial system.<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gLMbTODd0-A" width="560"></iframe>Kenneth Schortgen Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04471909868089426959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641768065620391885.post-14088249170291669532016-11-28T11:43:00.001-07:002016-11-28T11:43:37.635-07:00Newest banker scheme: tax on withdrawing money from your bank accountsDespite the fact that taxpayers bailed out banks in the U.S. and around the world following the 2008 financial crisis, the 'masters of the monetary universe' did little to show appreciation for the people that saved them from bankruptcy due to their own greed and corruption. &nbsp;And even with the ability now to borrow money from central bank discount windows at or near zero percent interest, a large number of banks chose to impose new fees on their customers under the guise of re-capitalization.<br /><br />Ironically, when companies impose a charge on individuals for a service it is known as a fee, but when a government does the same it is instead called a tax. &nbsp;And that is exactly what India, Greece, and perhaps soon even the United States is, or is planning to do, for people who choose to withdrawal cash out of their bank accounts in the future rather than using digital constructs to perform commerce.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="war-on-cash" src="https://armstrongmedia.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/war-on-cash.jpg" /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><blockquote class="tr_bq">Greek banks have proposed a series of measures to c<b>ombat tax evasion</b>, strengthen the electronic transactions and limit the use of cash in the economy, and as&nbsp;<a href="http://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/2016/11/27/greek-banks-propose-tax-on-cash-withdrawals-to-combat-tax-evasion/">KeepTalkingGreece.com reports,</a>&nbsp;one of the measures proposed is a&nbsp;<b>special tax on cash withdrawals.</b>&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b>Bankers reportedly stress that cash money can easily and largely be channeled in the black economy.&nbsp;</b>Therefore, a tax on cash withdrawals will drastically reduce cash transactions and by extension the black economy.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">The bankers suggest that also credit and debit cards as wells as new technologies enabling&nbsp;<b>cash-less transactions&nbsp;</b>even for small amounts&nbsp; and mobile phones can be used for the purchase of a transport ticket or a newspaper at the kiosk.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">The bankers proposal to the government also includes:&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">-Mandatory use of cards or other electronic payment networks for every transaction with professions where there is strong evidence of tax evasion or where cash is mainly used [ like bakeries, kiosks, street vendors and chestnut sellers?].&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">-Mandatory use of cards or electronic networks for transactions above a certain amount [this measure is already in effect].&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">–Reforming the tax system by introducing a revenue-expenditure system. Households or professionals will only be taxed on the amount of income that is has not been spent. In this way, households and professionals will have a strong incentive to seek receipts for any expenditure in order to increase their expenditure and reduce the tax amount they will have to pay.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">-Obligation for all businesses and regardless of their size to pay electronically every salary and wage. (source: Kathimerini via Liberal.gr) - <a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-11-28/greece-not-india-hellenic-banks-plan-tax-cash-withdrawals-combat-black-economy" target="_blank">Zerohedge</a></blockquote></div>Over in India, Prime Minister Modi has already implemented a 45% transaction tax on deposits that the government arbitrarily believes come from illegal or 'black market' commerce. &nbsp;And these two countries (India and Greece) are not the only nations with plans to impose a tax on cash withdrawals as this has been in the works for a few years in the halls of the Fed and Congress.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SoR04OBoviA/WDx5qYW8BdI/AAAAAAAAEH0/g98pMqXBTmw-ktLUR63heYQCXzOiMjkwACLcB/s1600/Bernie%2BMath.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="321" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SoR04OBoviA/WDx5qYW8BdI/AAAAAAAAEH0/g98pMqXBTmw-ktLUR63heYQCXzOiMjkwACLcB/s400/Bernie%2BMath.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><blockquote class="tr_bq">Greece is the first country to push for a carry tax on physical cash. It won’t be the last. This policy has been floating around in Central Banking circles for years. The fact that it’s now being openly promoted only proves how desperate the elites are getting about the state of the financial system.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Watch, the moment things turn south in the US in a big way, similar proposals will start cropping up here too.</blockquote></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DMt13dAUNMI" width="560"></iframe> <br />Kenneth Schortgen Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04471909868089426959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641768065620391885.post-87167431185101739332016-11-27T09:08:00.001-07:002016-11-27T09:08:42.936-07:00Spread between London paper gold price and Shanghai physical price now at $15Over the past 35 days the spread between the daily AM and PM gold price fixes set in London and in Shanghai have steadily moved apart as the physical markets in China break away from the prices set in the Western paper markets.<br /><br />Back in late October we began to see the difference in price <a href="http://www.thedailyeconomist.com/2016/10/gold-price-difference-out-of-china-now.html" target="_blank">grow to around $5</a>, with the spread then moving to <a href="http://www.thedailyeconomist.com/2016/11/gold-price-spread-between-shanghai-and.html" target="_blank">a difference of $7</a> just two weeks later. &nbsp;But with the London and Comex paper markets crushing the paper spot price back under $1200 per ounce since the Presidential elections on Nov. 8, the physical markets in Shanghai have not seen fit to accept these prices based on the actual rising demand in their own exchanges, and are reflecting it in price as the spread on Nov. 25 is now a whopping $15 difference.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-An04R1chP7E/WDsCndJRd-I/AAAAAAAAEHk/pqbVPBUHoj8dp9vJsLA2Zun4vRQxupZGQCLcB/s1600/gold%2Bmanipulators.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-An04R1chP7E/WDsCndJRd-I/AAAAAAAAEHk/pqbVPBUHoj8dp9vJsLA2Zun4vRQxupZGQCLcB/s400/gold%2Bmanipulators.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-family: &quot;calibri&quot; , &quot;sans-serif&quot;; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The gold premium on the Shanghai Gold Exchange soared as high as $30 Thursday before easing back to a still historically high level of around $15 on Friday, reports MKS (Switzerland) S.A. On Thursday, the “feature of the day was the SGE premium, which rose to an amazing $30 over the loco London gold price, the loftiest levels seen since 2013,” says Sam Laughlin, precious-metals trader with MKS. “The difference between then and now, however, is now the high premium seems to be more a factor of a supply shortage in mainland China as opposed to outright demand. As a result, despite the high premiums this week, the turnover has not been anything enormous.” The premium fell by roughly half on Friday, he continues. “While still elevated, we did some fatigue creeping into the Shanghai premium today, 'easing' to around $15 relative to loco London gold.” - <a href="http://www.kitco.com/news/2016-11-25/MKS-Shanghai-Gold-Premium-Jumps-To-30-Thursday-Then-Pulls-Back.html" target="_blank">Kitco</a></span></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>London Gold Fix, November 25, 2016</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8tb_EBz-W0Q/WDsB3NSz0EI/AAAAAAAAEHc/ez098QfJ8CEUWXylUdYqCwaZxl6pdTXYACLcB/s1600/London%2Bgold%2Bfix.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="80" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8tb_EBz-W0Q/WDsB3NSz0EI/AAAAAAAAEHc/ez098QfJ8CEUWXylUdYqCwaZxl6pdTXYACLcB/s400/London%2Bgold%2Bfix.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: &quot;calibri&quot; , &quot;sans-serif&quot;; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: &quot;calibri&quot; , &quot;sans-serif&quot;; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Shanghai Gold Exchange Gold Fix, November 25, 2016</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xxyP0aUK37o/WDsCWgozJxI/AAAAAAAAEHg/T3Z16jMefr0MxW_5vQpqXCjgcBzw1zLhQCLcB/s1600/Shanghai%2BGold%2BFix.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="88" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xxyP0aUK37o/WDsCWgozJxI/AAAAAAAAEHg/T3Z16jMefr0MxW_5vQpqXCjgcBzw1zLhQCLcB/s400/Shanghai%2BGold%2BFix.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: &quot;calibri&quot; , &quot;sans-serif&quot;; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: &quot;calibri&quot; , &quot;sans-serif&quot;; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As central and bullion banks in the West continue to beat down the price of gold in their paper derivative markets, the spread between the Asian physical and Western paper gold prices will continue to widen. &nbsp;And at a certain point, producers of gold will find it much more profitable to simply ship their metals directly to China rather than to continue to supply the Comex or LBMA, who's manipulation of the spot price using 100's of naked short contracts no longer reflects the true price of the precious metal.</span><br /> <span style="font-family: &quot;calibri&quot; , &quot;sans-serif&quot;; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GfHSLbgOwm4" width="560"></iframe>Kenneth Schortgen Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04471909868089426959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641768065620391885.post-41407229376163813432016-11-25T09:48:00.001-07:002016-11-25T09:48:09.844-07:00Indian government seeks to expand war on cash to also include a war on gold as the death of fiat money becomes a global phenomenonIn India's move to end what they call 'black market' transactions by eliminating their two highest denominated currency notes, Prime Minister Modi is quickly discovering the folly of attempting to mess with the nation's money, and a system that has functioned outside of banking systems for decades. &nbsp;And even as Modi's new measures of trying to force upwards of 1.3 billion people to turn in their now non-legal tender notes in exchange for a new currency has so far been a huge failure, the leader of India is now seeking to double down on capital controls and expand the war on cash to also a new war on gold.<br /><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user3303/imageroot/2016/11/23/india%20photos%203.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></div></div><div><div class="MsoNormal"><blockquote class="tr_bq">As Bloomberg reports,&nbsp;<b>the Indian government had observed a declining trend in exchange of old notes over the counter</b>, according to a statement from the state-run Press Information Bureau.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">And so the decision to end OTC exchange of notes was to<b>&nbsp;encourage people to deposit old notes in their bank accounts.</b>&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b>Government allows certain exemptions for use of old notes until Dec. 15,&nbsp;</b>with only 500 rupee denomination currency notes accepted for such transaction:<br /><ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="circle"><li class="MsoNormal">Old 500-rupee notes can be used for payment of school fees with limit; utility dues; payment of road toll fees</li></ul><ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="circle"><li class="MsoNormal">Foreigners permitted to exchange foreign currency up to 5,000 rupees/week</li></ul>Furthermore, as CNBC reports, the Indian government is set to<b>&nbsp;impose a 45% tax (haircut) on any suspicious deposits.</b>&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">This is a major problem as&nbsp;<b>only 40% of banknotes have been exchanged</b>&nbsp;according to local reports.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">We suspect the sudden urge to force citizens to deposit/exchange their old banknotes is due to the&nbsp;<b>increasing prevalance of "illegal workarounds"</b>&nbsp;across the nation... (as&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/business-owners-try-to-undercut-indias-move-against-black-money-1479910149">The Wall Street Journal reports</a>)&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Unable to spend or deposit their sackfuls of large bank notes amid India’s crackdown on hoarding cash,&nbsp;<b>business owners across the country are paying employees months of salary in advance, ringing up bogus sales and even buying gold they can smuggle overseas to get rid of stashed money or conceal its source.</b>&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Such illegal workarounds are threatening to undercut Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s move this month to cancel India’s highest-denomination rupee bills, which was meant to punish tax evaders and other criminals and bring more of the nation’s $2 trillion economy out of the shadows. - <a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-11-24/india-panics-rupee-crashes-record-low-modi-cuts-banknote-exchange-6-weeks-early" target="_blank">Zerohedge</a></blockquote></div></div>And because Prime Minister Modi's scheme has failed to accomplish his desired outcome from the people, it now appears he is going after their most sacred holdings.<br /><br />Their gold.<br /><div class="MsoNormal"><blockquote class="tr_bq">Recall, that as per our report last night, one of the reasons proposed for the recent tumble in gold has been speculation that India may ban gold imports. As a reminder, gold has traditionally been a widely-accepted cash alternative in an economy where gold has long held a supremacy over cash equivalents, to the point where recently the government started paying a dividend to those who deposit their gold to local banks for "safe keeping."&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Well, it now appears that the government is taking its crusade against gold one step futher, and according to a&nbsp;<a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/india-may-impose-curbs-on-domestic-gold-holdings-report/articleshow/55614499.cms">report by NewsRise</a>, the Indian government&nbsp;<b>may soon impose curbs on domestic holdings of gold&nbsp;</b>as Modi intensifies his war against "black money", news agency NewsRise reported.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">As we reported previously, gold prices have soared in India ever since the November 8 demonetization announcement,&nbsp;<b>and premiums jumped to two-year highs last week as jewellers ramped up purchases on fears the government might restrict imports&nbsp;</b>after withdrawing higher-denomination notes from circulation in its fight against black money.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">India is the world's second biggest gold buyer, and it is estimated that one-third of its annual demand of up to 1,000 tonnes is paid for in black money - untaxed funds held in secret by citizens in cash that don't appear in any official accounts.</blockquote></div>India may be the most public and most notable of countries going through the turmoil of forcing their people to change their currency, but they are far from the only nations currently implementing a ban on cash and gold. &nbsp;In just the past week the countries of Australia, Uruguay, and even Spain have begun the process of eliminating large currency denominations in their economies as the world seems ripe for a new liquidity crisis that is requiring extreme measures.<br /><div class="MsoNormal"><blockquote>India, Uruguay, Australia and now Spain. The Minister of Finance and Public Service, Cristóbal Montoro has reportedly just announced “anticipated measures in order to ‘reduce the use of cash.’&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>In other words, Spain is going to make cash transactions even more difficult. As of presstime, from what we can tell, this has yet to be reported anywhere in English media except here now at TDV.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>As you can see, the chaos is increasing. Combine cash bans with attacks on fake news (more on that tomorrow), and you end up disturbing a significant amount of people as we wrote here recently.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>This amounts to a trend of course, of the sort we’ve been analyzing for several years now. We’ve predicted increased social chaos throughout the West and beyond because globalism is not built by votes but by violence and widespread disaffection that allows globalist “solutions” to be rammed home.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>I expect “cash banning” to be speeded up along with selected attacks on the alternative media - as part of a larger effort to create widespread social dissension. People believe attacks on cash and “news” are what they seem to be on the surface. They are not. They are part of a much deeper strategy that involves additional globalism.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>We’ve expected just these sorts of actions and have profited from them for the past several years along with our newsletter subscribers. We await more of the same.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>Currently, violence spawned by this anti-cash trend can be seen in such countries as Uruguay and India where cash banning on large bills has ignited significant social chaos already. India is in the throes of riots while Uruguay has been hit with a nationwide strike aimed in part at derailing a mandate that all employers must pay employees electronically via a bank account, starting as soon as March. &nbsp;- <a href="https://dollarvigilante.com/blog/2016/11/23/breaking-news-war-cash-now-spain.html" target="_blank">Dollar Vigilante</a></blockquote><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div>Perhaps one of the reasons for this sudden attack on money by governments and central banks is due to the rising dollar and the expanding liquidity crisis that the reserve currency is creating as fewer nations can afford to buy dollars for international commerce. &nbsp;And with the dollar reaching a 14 year high this week by nearly touching 102 on the dollar index, history shows that anytime the reserve currency has crossed the 100 level over the past 30 years it has triggered a financial crisis somewhere, which it appears to be doing now in multiple locations.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://www.secretsofthefed.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/dollar-whirlpool.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></div><blockquote class="tr_bq">In the latest report from ADM ISI’s strategy team, “Dollar Liquidity Threat is Getting Critical and Fed is M.I.A.”, Paul Mylchreest argues that mainstream economic luminaries (like Carmen Reinhart) are finally acknowledging the evolving crisis due to the dollar shortage outside the US, a topic which even the head researcher at the BIS&nbsp;<a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-11-15/vix-dead-according-bis-new-fear-indicator">shone a spotlight on yesterday&nbsp;</a>suggesting that the strength of the dollar, not the VIX is the new "fear indicator". - <a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-11-16/dollar-illiquidity-getting-critical-10-trillion-short-which-fed-does-not-understand" target="_blank">Zerohedge</a></blockquote>As always in history, when people lose confidence in their currencies the natural and obvious next move is to rush out of their 'money' and into tangible assets such as gold and silver. &nbsp;And besides the rumors of gold soaring <a href="http://www.thedailyeconomist.com/2016/11/price-of-gold-in-dollars-well-over-3600.html" target="_blank">as high as $3600 on the black market</a> now in India, over in Asia people are massively increasing their own buying, and are more than willing to pay high premiums to get it.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/--6CTLpeIBfs/WDhpAULpVLI/AAAAAAAAEHM/eviNfFdLK9gxxD5RjWJEJ9pm0rB-vYNtQCLcB/s1600/gold%2Bvs%2Bdollar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="398" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/--6CTLpeIBfs/WDhpAULpVLI/AAAAAAAAEHM/eviNfFdLK9gxxD5RjWJEJ9pm0rB-vYNtQCLcB/s400/gold%2Bvs%2Bdollar.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b>The price of gold is being attacked right now in a manner that is quite reminiscent of the way it was attacked in the summer of 2008, right before the global financial markets collapsed, led by the fall&nbsp;of Lehman. &nbsp;Something really ugly is coming toward the global economic and financial system.</b>&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b>In Viet Nam the premium paid by the public has just soared to $90 over world gold.&nbsp;&nbsp;</b>The spread has been wider over the last 15 years, but not much and&nbsp;<b>only during times when there’s been high “backwardation”&nbsp;between the physical delivery bullion markets in the east vs. the fraudulent paper gold markets in London and NYC. -&nbsp;</b><i>From PM Fund Manager&nbsp;<a href="http://investmentresearchdynamics.com/">Dave Kranzler</a>:&nbsp;</i>&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Gold was pushing $1230/oz overnight, as the methodical take-down of gold and silver in the NYC and London paper markets has triggered an avalanche of demand for physical gold in the eastern hemisphere.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b>Last night ex-duty import premiums in India were $14 over spot gold.</b>&nbsp;&nbsp;In Shanghai the premium to world gold was $9.76. &nbsp;<b>Delivery volume into the Shanghai Gold</b>&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b>Exchange rocketed to an extraordinary 86.55 tonnes</b>&nbsp;(it was 35.9 tonnes on Wednesday). &nbsp;The open interest on the SGE was 807 tonnes. &nbsp;To one observer’s recollection, John Brimelow of John Brimelow’s Gold Jottings,&nbsp;<b>this is the first time the open interest has been over 800 tonnes.</b>&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">In Viet Nam the premium paid by the public was $90 over world gold. &nbsp;<b>only during times when there’s been high “backwardation” between the physical delivery bullion markets in the east vs. the fraudulent paper gold markets in London and NYC.</b> – <a href="http://www.silverdoctors.com/silver/silver-news/fund-manager-warns-something-really-ugly-is-coming-physical-gold-buying-soars-in-asia/" target="_blank">Silver Doctors</a></blockquote></div>Just as most people imagine the strength of the economy as being tied to the value of the stock markets, so too do people erroneously picture the true value of gold as being tied to the manipulated paper spot price determined in London and the Comex. &nbsp;But the coming financial crisis that has been deferred now for eight years ever since the 2008 Credit Event appears very much to be demanding a reckoning, and those who both see it early enough, as well as prepare for it, will find the ability to do so as the days of the dollar and of money quickly come to an end.<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/429jrPupdDY" width="560"></iframe> <div><br /></div>Kenneth Schortgen Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04471909868089426959noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641768065620391885.post-65230540605052266182016-11-24T09:13:00.000-07:002016-11-24T09:13:10.045-07:00Dollar strength leads to more purchasing power as Thanksgiving dinner costs for 2017 go downIt's Thanksgiving once again and that time of the year again where many things kick into motion for the American consumer.<br /><br />Beginning with gasoline prices climbing a bit for areas around the country that switch over to winter blends, the season culminates with the arrival of snowbirds down South from Canada and the Northern U.S. locations and of course, the home stretch for retailers during the Christmas holiday shopping season.<br /><br />But the main course for this period is as always Thanksgiving, and the coming together of families along with the cooking and baking of the traditional dinner.<br /><br />Each year economists try to put together a cost analysis for the average dinner and more often than not, the price rises around 3-5% from the year before. &nbsp;But with the dollar suddenly strengthening to levels not seen in the past 13 years, that additional purchasing power has done something not seen in quite some time...<br /><br />A decline in cost for this year's Thanksgiving meal.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img height="299" src="https://media.timeout.com/images/102884225/630/472/image.jpg" width="400" /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><blockquote class="tr_bq">According to the American Farm Bureau Federation's (AFBF) annual informal price survey, the average meal for 10 people will be $49.87--&nbsp; a 24-cent drop from last year’s average of $50.11.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">The survey’s shopping list includes enough turkey, bread stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls (with butter, of course), peas, cranberries, a vegetable tray, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, coffee and milk for 10 eaters. The AFBF has been commissioning this study for 31 years.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Foods showing the largest reductions this year were pumpkin pie mix, milk and a veggie tray comprised of celery and carrots. A 30-ounce can of pumpkin pie mix was $3.13, a gallon of milk was $3.17 and a one-pound veggie tray of celery and carrots was just 73-cents.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">A group of miscellaneous items including coffee and ingredients need to prepare the meal (butter, evaporated milk, onions, eggs, sugar and flour) came in at $2.81.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">The headliner – a 16-pound turkey – averaged a total of $22.74 (about $1.42 per pound). That’s a decrease of 2 cents per pound, or an overall 30 cents per whole turkey, compared to last year. - <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2016/11/18/thanksgiving-dinner-costs-down-this-year-according-to-annual-report/" target="_blank">Fox News</a></blockquote></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bDdXJaZZIuE" width="560"></iframe>Kenneth Schortgen Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04471909868089426959noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641768065620391885.post-58672880230151838592016-11-23T08:53:00.000-07:002016-11-23T08:53:08.733-07:00Russia becoming masters of alchemy as they turn coal into both diamonds and goldWhile the technology for taking simple carbon materials like coal and using the time tested methods of heat and pressure found in nature to turn them into diamonds and other precious gems has been around since the 1940's, Russia has long since mastered the process and is recognized around the world for their ability to process synthetic stones in flawless grades.<br /><br />Yet even as the mystical and sometimes scientific process of alchemy has been part of mankind going back thousands of years, the ability to take mundane materials and turn them into valuable elements on a large scale has been a roadblock for the art form to become full scaled to make the process widely profitable.<br /><br />Until now?<br /><br />On Nov. 22 a new discovery out of the Russian Academy of Sciences shows that engineers there can now extract gold from coal and provide a valuable by-product from an energy source that provides power to billions of people around the world.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Image result for alchemy gold" height="340" src="http://www.sirenabernal.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/gold-from-liquid.png" width="400" /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><blockquote class="tr_bq">Researchers from the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Far East branch say they are building a facility to make gold out of coal.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Although the science is no fairy tale, to the dismay of business owners, the process is not as productive as they might hope – burning a ton of coal yields one gram of gold, tops.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">At present, the scientists are setting the bar even lower, expecting a yield of 0.5 grams, or 1,500 rubles, per ton.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><i>“We burn a ton – we gain 1,500 rubles,”</i>&nbsp;Oleg Ageev, CEO of Complex Innovative Technologies of the Amur Scientific Center, said in a press statement.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">At current exchange rates, that is roughly $23 US dollars.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">The discovery of gold lacing in coal is the result of 15 years of study from different fields.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">To create the gold, smoke created in burning coal goes through a hundred-fold purifying system. The residue is then flushed through a filter with water, allowing a gold concentrate to be extracted that is later used to make the precious metal.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">The scientists are planning to test the gold-making equipment in one of the Amur region’s boiler houses next year, and ultimately hope to receive a grant to develop and implement an industrial grade device.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">“We plan to use municipal boiler houses to implement our filtering system because they burn about eight to 10 thousand tons in a season, and that’s potentially 10 kilos of gold.” - <a href="https://www.rt.com/news/367821-coal-gold-technology-russia/" target="_blank">Russia Today</a></blockquote></div>It is of course obvious right now that the process will cost far more than it gets in return from their extracting minute amounts of gold from coal, but as with any new discovery or technology, improvements over time may not only allow gold and other materials to be taken out of cheaper raw substances like coal, but better and more inexpensive methods will over time take their place.<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gLMbTODd0-A" width="560"></iframe>Kenneth Schortgen Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04471909868089426959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641768065620391885.post-2475533662391047102016-11-19T19:43:00.000-07:002016-11-19T20:59:41.158-07:00Price of gold in dollars well over $3600 in India as currency crisis threatens to bring their economy to a haltAs news continues to come in from the nation of India following the government's order to eliminate certain currency notes from their monetary system, the rush to both trade in, and move money out of banks has been the singular thought for hundreds of millions of people.<br /><br />And as part of this monetary transfer has been the massive demand for gold, especially since Modi pushed for a suspension of imports of the yellow metal last week. &nbsp;And according to many sources, the price of gold in dollars has now reached over $3600 per ounce as the people move to get rid of their rupees and into the one tangible asset that weathers all crises.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user3303/imageroot/2016/11/16/20161117_india_0.jpg" height="232" width="400" /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><blockquote>Measure planned to prevent people from hoarding cash and generating income that could evade taxes, according to government officials with direct knowledge of the matter.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>Planned measures include limit on large cash withdrawals from bank, the officials said, asking not to be identified citing rules on speaking to media.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>Budget, due in February, may have steps to encourage use of checks, credit and debit cards.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>Purchase of gold jewelry said to be made more stringent to prevent switching of asset from cash.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>Finance Ministry spokesman D. S. Malik couldn’t be reached for comment. - <a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-11-19/brace-economic-disruption-socgen-sees-sharp-rise-gold-india-plans-cap-cash-holdings" target="_blank">Zerohedge</a></blockquote><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div>Perhaps the most interesting and destructive thing to come from Prime Minister Modi's move against the Indian currency is the fact that productivity has virtually stopped as people are spending several hours per day swapping over $60 worth of rupees due to the capital control laws limiting withdrawals.<br /><br />When Venezuela collapsed into hyper-inflation a few months ago, it was reported on the ground that an ounce of silver would buy you 3-4 months worth of groceries, and a single ounce of gold could buy you a house. &nbsp;And now in India the price of gold is skyrocketing upwards and outside the control of the paper gold markets which determine the global spot prices, and should be a warning to all on why owning physical metals is vital in a world where confidence in fiat money is crashing.<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jgm_Zh-9CLE" width="560"></iframe>Kenneth Schortgen Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04471909868089426959noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641768065620391885.post-13328400100867705552016-11-18T14:02:00.001-07:002016-11-18T14:02:33.585-07:00Strong dollar about to trigger a massive dumping of treasuries and dollar reserves by foreign holders of U.S. debtFew people actually connected the dots six years ago as to the real reasons behind the Arab Spring uprisings in places like Yemen, Egypt, and elsewhere in the Middle East. &nbsp;Politicians and a lazy mainstream media wanted us to focus on how it was due to people wanting to rise up against tyrannical dictators, but the truth of the matter was that the civil unrest was intrinsically tied to the dollar, and in nations being unable to afford to purchase commodities such as wheat because of how strong the reserve currency was in relation to their own.<br /><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Image result for arab spring bread helmet" src="http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/097/640/breadhattemp.png?1318992465" height="291" width="400" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>(Egytian protester wearing a bread helmet)</i></b></div><div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">When grain prices spiked in 2007-2008, Egypt's bread prices rose 37%. With unemployment rising as well, more people depended on subsidised bread – but the government did not make any more available. Egypt's annual food price inflation continued and had hit 18.9% before the fall of President Mubarak.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Fifty per cent of the calories consumed by Egyptians originate outside its borders. Egypt is the world's largest wheat importer, and no country in the region (except for Syria) produces more than a small fraction of the wheat it consumes. Should the global markets be unable to provide a country's need, or if there are not enough funds available to finance purchases and to offer price support, then the food of the poor will become inaccessible to them. - <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/jul/17/bread-food-arab-spring" target="_blank">Guardian</a></blockquote></div>Despite the fact that the entire world was involved in the Great Recession, and most of their economies did not have access to strong central banks able to implement ZIRP and QE programs, it did not take the dollar exploding over 100 on the dollar index to cause financial havoc to one or more countries, but only a move from 72 to 84 to be just enough for countries deep in recession to be unable to buy dollars so they could purchase over-inflated commodities to feed their peoples.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-blQzpQA3nLo/WC9oEDxL_gI/AAAAAAAAEG4/z8BNdo4UVpoc4jb-yQr-z2im9qBak0cmQCLcB/s1600/Dollar%2BChart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="366" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-blQzpQA3nLo/WC9oEDxL_gI/AAAAAAAAEG4/z8BNdo4UVpoc4jb-yQr-z2im9qBak0cmQCLcB/s400/Dollar%2BChart.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />In the past 30 years there have been three times when the dollar was over 100 on the index, and on every occasion a financial or monetary crisis emerged someone in the world. &nbsp;In the 1980's it was the Mexican Peso crisis, and in the late 1990's it was both the Argentinian and Asian financial crises.<br /><br />And now in November of 2016, and immediately following the election of Donald Trump as President, the dollar has skyrockted upwards and has crossed 100 on the index for the first time in 13 years. &nbsp;And in that short amount of time since Nov. 8 we have seen India experience a monetary meltdown, and China see its currency strengthen to its highest levels in a decade.<br /><br />However, both India and China are not Argentina, Egypt, Mexico, and Thailand. &nbsp;And unlike these second world economies who were unable to withstand the reserve currency's pressure on their own money back 20 and 30 years ago, the world's second and seventh largest economies do have a form of ammunition to respond to the dollar's move and counter the dollar with its own medicine...<br /><br />That of their dollar reserves. &nbsp;And China appears ready now to bring heavy pain to the U.S. bond market by dumping hundreds of billions, if not trillions of dollars worth to protect their own economy.<br /><div class="MsoNormal"><blockquote class="tr_bq">Asked about when the Yuan may cross the psychological barrier, a PBOC advisor told Reuters that "I don't think the breaking of 7 is imminent. We may have to wait until next year." Actually, at this rate, "breaking" of 7 may happen as soon as next week, to which he adds :"If the pace of depreciation is too fast, if it hit 7 before the end of this year, the central bank will control it."&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">And that's when the liquidation of Chinese USD-denominated reserves begins in earnest, among all those other measures the PBOC implemented a year ago when the market was far less sanguine about the Chinese devaluation:&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">The policy insiders said the central bank was likely to intervene in currency markets and enforce capital controls to slow the rate of decline in the yuan.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">As we expected, the intervention has already started:<br />traders said large Chinese state banks had offered dollars in the domestic currency market on Thursday in an apparent effort to slow down the depreciation of the yuan.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">They said there had been no sign of state dollar selling in previous sessions.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Another way of saying "offering dollars" is selling US assets. - <a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-11-18/china-warns-it-ready-slow-yuan-plunge-capital-outflow-fears" target="_blank">Zerohedge</a></blockquote><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div>Once China begins dumping more of their dollars in earnest, and the bond rates for Treasuries start to spike arithmetically or even exponentially, it will open the floodgates for everyone else to dump their $14 trillion in foreign held dollars where the ramifications of them returning to the U.S. will be catastrophic. &nbsp;And all that inflation that has been exported for decades to the rest of the world will come back in one sudden wave to prices and consumers, and might very easily spell the end of the American century, as well as dollar hegemony as the global reserve currency.<br /><br /></div>Kenneth Schortgen Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04471909868089426959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641768065620391885.post-77964250420969634062016-11-16T12:37:00.001-07:002016-11-16T12:37:15.063-07:00As the world currencies start to crater, India mulling banning of gold imports along with eliminating cashEarlier this year, some establishment economists, along with academics and central bankers, began throwing out the proposal of banning cash as a way to allow for the backdoor expansion of currencies in monetary policy. &nbsp;This of course received a huge backlash by the citizenry of several countries, and in some cases led to a run on banks from those fearing theft through negative interest rates, or through the implementation of draconian capital controls.<br /><br />Surprisingly, one of the countries that was least likely to show signs of a currency collapse until recently was that of India. &nbsp;And as a strong emerging market nation who had just embarked on a massive Make in India campaign, their elimination last week of their two largest currency denominations stoked fears of their own government seeking a ban on cash, and has led millions to either take out their money from banking institutions, with much of the wealth going into gold.<br /><br />But in a new article published on Nov. 16 at The Daily Bell, eliminating cash may be the first step towards absolute control over money as the Modi government is now mulling plans to stop gold from being imported into the country entirely.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Vi8ZltNtDjE/WCy0SD9SwDI/AAAAAAAAEGo/q0yX2_9lS5E1TS7uSaSPNkBKJgCQIlKnQCLcB/s1600/And%2Bits%2Bgone.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Vi8ZltNtDjE/WCy0SD9SwDI/AAAAAAAAEGo/q0yX2_9lS5E1TS7uSaSPNkBKJgCQIlKnQCLcB/s400/And%2Bits%2Bgone.png" width="400" /></a></div><blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background: white; line-height: 13.3pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #303030; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 9.0pt;">Prime minister Narendra Modi recently decided to confiscate the cash of hundreds of millions of Indians, and now he may forbid Indians from importing gold.</span><span style="background-color: transparent;">&nbsp;</span></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background: white; line-height: 13.3pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #303030; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 9.0pt;">This would have an immediate effect on gold supplies as India, despite the affinity of citizens for gold and silver, has very little in the way of domestic mining.</span><span style="background-color: transparent;">&nbsp;</span></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background: white; line-height: 13.3pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #303030; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 9.0pt;">In part, this is because the government itself is consistently at war with Indian citizens over money and its control. This struggle has most recently manifested itself in India’s decision to remove, wholesale, large denomination bills from public circulation.</span><span style="background-color: transparent;">&nbsp;</span></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background: white; line-height: 13.3pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #303030; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 9.0pt;">The country [banned] 500 and 1000 rupee notes (worth about US$7 and $14 respectively) and the mooted import restriction [banning gold imports] could be a reaction to dealers swapping the notes for gold.</span><span style="color: #303030; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 9.0pt;">IBJA national secretary Surendra Mehta told the Times of India its members should be ready.&nbsp;&nbsp; “We hear from certain circles of this possibility, though nothing official is out yet,” he said.</span><span style="background-color: transparent;">&nbsp;</span></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background: white; line-height: 13.3pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #303030; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 9.0pt;">The larger issue here has to do with banning cash on a global level. It is typical of reporting in this modern era that few if any of the mainstream articles covering India’s most recent move seemingly mention this.</span><span style="background-color: transparent;">&nbsp;</span></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background: white; line-height: 13.3pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #303030; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Governments around the world are beginning to ban cash. Sweden is far advanced but Uruguay and now India are not far behind. Uruguay is soon to demand that employers cease to pay employees via cash and instead deposit paychecks directly in bank accounts. - <a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-11-16/india-bans-cash-now-gold" target="_blank">Zerohedge</a></span></blockquote>India is not the only nation looking hard at eliminating cash, or creating barriers for people to get their money out of banks and into something tangible that is outside the hands of government control. &nbsp;And as the world rushes towards a currency or financial crisis worse than in 2008, the days are becoming numbered on you and an individual having a choice on what you can do with your own money.<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uwu6dusUd-o" width="560"></iframe>Kenneth Schortgen Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04471909868089426959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641768065620391885.post-6492668348133324522016-11-15T09:54:00.000-07:002016-11-15T09:54:18.005-07:00Got gold? Italy's Monte dei Paschi bank begins bail-ins for bond holdersBail-ins can no longer be said to be limited to just Cyprus now as on Nov. 15, a major Eurozone country just facilitated the confiscation and subsequent haircut of bond holders owning the bank's subordinated debt.<br /><br />Italy's albatross, and the world's oldest operating bank which goes back to the days before the discovery of the New World, was finally forced to capitulate to stave off insolvency by cutting staff and conducting a bail-in of certain bond-holders of the bank's debt.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nU2ELCa4qdw/WCs9MNG5qmI/AAAAAAAAEGY/5qxiMJfX0hUsYZNS5wFIjk4ldhRcQxyIQCLcB/s1600/bail%2Bout.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="363" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nU2ELCa4qdw/WCs9MNG5qmI/AAAAAAAAEGY/5qxiMJfX0hUsYZNS5wFIjk4ldhRcQxyIQCLcB/s400/bail%2Bout.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><blockquote class="tr_bq">Ever since the bank failed the ECB's latest stress test this summer, when it was advised that it needs to raise billions in capital, only to see the process fizzle with virtually no willing sources of new cash emerging due to the opaque labyrinth of the bank's bilions on NPLs, Italy's third largest, most insolvent, bank has been hoping to avoid a debt conversion, out of fears it may spook retail bondholders across the capital structure, and in other Italian banks, who may perceive the move even if touted as "voluntary" as a creditor bail-in. Which it technically is.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Earlier today, the bank's board bet on Monday to set the terms for a bond-to-equity conversion that is part of the lender's capital boosting plans. As part of its sweeping restructuring, Monte Paschi was planning to lay off a tenth of its staff, shut branches and sell assets to win investor backing for a 5 billion euros ($5.4 billion) cash call, its third recapitalisation in as many years. The key part, however, due to the lack of new investor interest was the previously leaked voluntary conversion of its subordinated debt, whose successful execution would limit the amount of new funds needed.<br />So while we wait to learn if Monte Paschi will be successful in raising the critical outside cash, here is what Monte Paschi's bail-in, pardon debt conversion will look like, according to sources including Ansa, Bloomberg and&nbsp;<a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL8N1DF90X">Reuters</a>:&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="circle"><li class="MsoNormal">Monte Paschi approves voluntary debt-to-equity swap offer</li></ul><ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="circle"><li class="MsoNormal">Offer to target subordinated bonds for total outstanding amount of 4.289 billion euros;&nbsp;<b>will offer between 20-100 percent of nominal value in bond swap offer</b></li></ul><ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="circle"><li class="MsoNormal">Holders of ~€4.5 billion of subordinated bonds&nbsp;<b>will be able</b>&nbsp;to convert them to shares</li></ul><ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="circle"><li class="MsoNormal">Bank is also considering possibility of launching conversion into equity of 1 billion euros of Fresh 2008 bonds</li></ul><ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="circle"><li class="MsoNormal">Senior bonds not included in the voluntary conversion plan</li></ul><ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="circle"><li class="MsoNormal">The bank is also considering conversion plan for EU1b of hybrid bonds</li></ul><ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="circle"><li class="MsoNormal">The conversion price is seen&nbsp;<b>at 85% of nominal value&nbsp;</b>for riskier Tier 1 bonds, according to Ansa sources.</li></ul><ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="circle"><li class="MsoNormal">The Conversion price is seen&nbsp;<b>at 100% of nominal value&nbsp;</b>for less risky Tier 2 bonds</li></ul><ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="circle"><li class="MsoNormal">Monte Paschi will acquire €700m of MPS Capital Trust II securities, also Tier 1,&nbsp;<b>at 20%</b></li></ul><ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="circle"><li class="MsoNormal">It will also acquire seven series of BMPS subordinated debt at 100%</li></ul>Offer open to investors classified as “qualified investors” only for Upper Tier 2 securities - <a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-11-14/monte-paschi-begins-bondholer-bail-will-equitize-over-%E2%82%AC4-billion-junior-bonds" target="_blank">Zerohedge</a></blockquote></div>Monte Dei Paschi is not the only European bank experiencing insolvency issues, but they could be opening the door for institutions like Deutsche Bank to have to follow suit since EU rules negate the possibility of a government funded taxpayer bailout.<br /><br />When you take into account what occurred late last week in India, where their government abruptly eliminated higher denomination bills to attempt to force their citizens to keep their money solely in a bank, and couple this with the instability of banks all across Europe, the world is once again teetering on the potential of another credit crisis, only this time it will be your money that is used to bail them out unless you learned the lessons of 2008 and have your wealth stored in something much more tangible.<br /><br />Got gold?<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/E6Tmtx36Bkc" width="560"></iframe>Kenneth Schortgen Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04471909868089426959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641768065620391885.post-45240322125918557772016-11-14T12:44:00.001-07:002016-11-14T12:44:40.095-07:00The dollar vs. gold dichotomy: As dollar strengthens it opens door for greater gold buyingAs we have mentioned many times before here at The Daily Economist, you should not value gold simply in its relation to the dollar. &nbsp;In fact, all one has to do is look at countries like Venezuela and now India to know that when a nation's currency loses confidence or value, gold soars to all-time highs in relation to their money.<br /><br />Of course we in the U.S. quite often are only interested in what happens to things in relation to the dollar, and in many cases rightly so since it still holds the position as the global reserve currency. &nbsp;But that in itself should not be a deterrent since the recent strength in the dollar has created an incredible buying opportunity for physical gold.<br /><br />5 Day dollar chart:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-d_7OGVdmUXE/WCoR6kV0hoI/AAAAAAAAEGE/WKD9ENUun5k_OaFrFwg2BqrhtgFaMyaRwCLcB/s1600/Dollar%2BChart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="201" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-d_7OGVdmUXE/WCoR6kV0hoI/AAAAAAAAEGE/WKD9ENUun5k_OaFrFwg2BqrhtgFaMyaRwCLcB/s400/Dollar%2BChart.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />One Week Gold Chart:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I_eaX3LTNtk/WCoSDMtkR_I/AAAAAAAAEGI/m3iQEcwBRlwJvtknhgFgKUn9ENOwUb-KACLcB/s1600/Gold%2Bchart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I_eaX3LTNtk/WCoSDMtkR_I/AAAAAAAAEGI/m3iQEcwBRlwJvtknhgFgKUn9ENOwUb-KACLcB/s400/Gold%2Bchart.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />As you can see in the above charts, in the same period that the dollar climbed 400 bps to over 100 on the index, gold fell to $1216 and its lowest point vs. the dollar in some months.<br /><br />But here is the catch many gold bugs fail to realize... when the dollar strengthens it means that your purchasing power in that currency is much greater, so you inevitably get more 'bang for your buck'. &nbsp;It is only when the dollar is collapsing and gold prices are also falling that purchasing gold becomes a losing proposition.<br /><br />A stronger dollar is bad news for foreign markets as seen by the historic drop in the Chinese Yuan as well as in the Euro and Yen. &nbsp;And it also means that investors and traders there will be looking towards gold as a safe haven to protect against the devaluing of their currency, which will lead to even greater shortages in gold than we already have today.<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VoBRckWwN4g" width="560"></iframe>Kenneth Schortgen Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04471909868089426959noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641768065620391885.post-27273214680243660842016-11-12T09:41:00.001-07:002016-11-12T09:41:17.414-07:00Gold price spread between Shanghai and London now up to $7 as recent price slam sends more buyers to ChinaFollowing the Presidential election on Nov. 8, the gold cartel dumped extraordinary amounts of paper gold contracts which not only reversed the $61 gains that occurred when it appeared that Donald Trump was going to win, but they also ended up slamming down the price by an additional $50 over the next two trading sessions.<br /><br />Part of this was due to a massive rise in the dollar, which went from 96 to over 99 on the dollar index, and the deflationary scare that crept into the markets that many now believe will quash the Fed from raising rates in December.<br /><br />In the meantime, the takedown of the gold price by the bullion banks through their dumping of 85,000 paper contracts, or over $10 billion in gold derivatives, was the equivalent of 12% of the global gold mining output annually.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user3303/imageroot/2016/11/09/20161111_gold2_0.jpg" height="210" width="400" /></div><br />Yet the chaos in the gold price had limited effects over in China, where the Shanghai Gold Exchange functions as the world's largest physical gold market. &nbsp;And in one of the more interesting notes over the past days was that the spread between the London/Comex gold fix and the Shanghai daily fix is now $7, which is up $2 from just one month ago.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nwpvRlSaDsg/WCdE5vYVNFI/AAAAAAAAEF0/cUEcQPa7fZYH9C4RexcnIm3lqRI3zzIEwCLcB/s1600/bernankebondfraud.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="283" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nwpvRlSaDsg/WCdE5vYVNFI/AAAAAAAAEF0/cUEcQPa7fZYH9C4RexcnIm3lqRI3zzIEwCLcB/s400/bernankebondfraud.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><blockquote class="tr_bq">Shanghai morning fix Nov 11 (10:15 pm est last night): $&nbsp; <span style="color: #cc0000;">1265.29</span>&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">NY ACCESS PRICE: $<span style="color: #cc0000;">1260.00</span> (AT THE EXACT SAME TIME)&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Shanghai afternoon fix:&nbsp; 2: 15 am est (second fix/early&nbsp; morning):$&nbsp;&nbsp; <span style="color: #cc0000;">1267.47</span>&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">NY ACCESS PRICE: <span style="color: #cc0000;">1260.60</span> (AT THE EXACT SAME TIME/2:15 am)&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b>HUGE SPREAD TODAY!!&nbsp; 7.00 dollars</b> - <a href="https://harveyorganblog.com/2016/11/11/nov-11ten-billion-dollars-worth-of-paper-gold-sold-at-the-comex-massive-raid-on-both-gold-and-silverhuge-withdrawals-of-13-35-tonnes-of-gold-from-gld-and-1-379-million-oz-from-slvchina-devalues-t/" target="_blank">Harvey Organ</a></blockquote></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/A-Sg6J-Qvuw" width="560"></iframe>Kenneth Schortgen Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04471909868089426959noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641768065620391885.post-80832679847836268582016-11-10T11:09:00.000-07:002016-11-10T11:09:11.428-07:00Europe, not the U.S., were the biggest buyers of gold after Donald Trump won the presidencyAs the election counts began coming in on the evening of Nov. 8, the markets reacted chaotically as the night wore on to the reality that Donald Trump victory was going to be the next President of the United States. &nbsp;And this market turmoil led to the dollar, stocks, and gold all moving in extreme opposition to what the markets had anticipated when they closed for business on Tuesday.<br /><br />Yet the most interesting thing occurred within hours of seeing the Dow futures down 840 points, the dollar down 300 bps, and gold up $61... these markets all reversed and by the time trading was over on Wednesday gold had lost all of its gains, the dollar had recovered all of its losses and more, and stocks closed well into the green.<br /><br />So the question then remains is, does a Trump victory mean the end to the gold bull market, or was this 'recovery' a last ditch effort by the Fed and Treasury to prop up paper markets?<br /><br />Perhaps the answer lies over in Europe where following the Trump victory gold sales all across the continent were occurring at a record pace.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FUoGZ1jt_PQ/WCS2jTWIbSI/AAAAAAAAEFk/_Rzsk1zh7BATLqPsYmChEa3JwvAXWK2kgCLcB/s1600/Gold%2Bin%2BHand.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FUoGZ1jt_PQ/WCS2jTWIbSI/AAAAAAAAEFk/_Rzsk1zh7BATLqPsYmChEa3JwvAXWK2kgCLcB/s400/Gold%2Bin%2BHand.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><blockquote>Spot gold prices surged nearly 5 percent with Donald Trump's surprise U.S. presidential election win spurring purchases of physical gold&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>The flurry of buying on physical markets mostly took place in Europe, after Trump's victory was declared, when the price of spot gold surged by nearly 5 percent to a six-week high of $1,337.40 an ounce.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>Gold gave up gains during U.S. trading and turned slightly negative, as the dollar moved higher and Wall Street stocks rose sharply. [MKTS/GLOB]&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>"Overnight, there has been a tremendous increase in our sales," said Oliver Heuschuch, head of trading for Degussa's gold business, one of the biggest German physical dealers.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>"It's nearly treble the size of regular business."<br />Ahead of the election, analysts widely expected that a Trump victory would cause gold prices to rally as investors sought refuge in perceived safe-haven assets such as gold.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>Demand for physical gold and silver in the United States rose in the weeks prior to the vote, but in contrast to Europe there was little sign of buying in the United States on Wednesday.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>"Today's figures are already some of the best on record, even surpassing our performance following the Brexit vote," said Chris Howard, director of bullion at the United&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>Kingdom's Royal Mint, about Signature Gold sales that involve customers buying gold that is stored at the mint.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>The Pure Gold Company in London said its sales spiked 42 percent early on Wednesday versus the prior day. - <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-gold-idUSKBN1343MS" target="_blank">Reuters</a></blockquote></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Q5zDTJ2EJGU" width="560"></iframe>Kenneth Schortgen Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04471909868089426959noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641768065620391885.post-48637702316443124972016-11-09T07:12:00.000-07:002016-11-09T07:12:12.194-07:00As expected, Trump victory drives gold price back over $1300 as global markets uncertain of futureAs we at The Daily Economist wrote yesterday, the opportunity for short-term anti-establishment bets in gold, currencies, and the stock markets came to fruition when Donald Trump successfully beat the odds and won the White House early on Wednesday morning.<br /><br />Starting with his taking of Florida in the early evening, and culminating with his surpassing of 270 electoral votes around 2:30am, global markets treated the Trump victory like a Brexit part two, and gold was definitely a benefactor by rising over 5% at one point.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4NYo-WrwjLk/WCMtcdcJ17I/AAAAAAAAEFU/-j-KBEO6bFEhYK3xd865Nn0QUODSbkwBgCLcB/s1600/gold%2Bvs%2Bdollar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="398" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4NYo-WrwjLk/WCMtcdcJ17I/AAAAAAAAEFU/-j-KBEO6bFEhYK3xd865Nn0QUODSbkwBgCLcB/s400/gold%2Bvs%2Bdollar.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><blockquote class="tr_bq">Gold jumped nearly 5 percent on Wednesday to its strongest in six weeks as investors snapped up safe havens with Republican Donald Trump winning the race for the White House over Democrat Hillary Clinton.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">It marked gold's biggest single-day gain since June 24 when it rose as much as 8 percent when Britain decided to leave the European Union. It closed up 4.8 percent that day.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">A Trump win, which many see could lead to economic and global uncertainty, may also push the U.S. Federal Reserve to hold off from raising interest rates next month, further burnishing gold's draw, analysts say. - <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2016/11/08/gold-steady-in-asian-trade-ahead-of-us-election-outcome.html" target="_blank">CNBC</a></blockquote><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div>Despite the fact that Trump will not officially take office for another 72 days, his victory will reverberate around the world's markets for some time as the uncertainty of new fiscal and monetary policies that may or may not be beneficial to Wall Street will have a significant effect on gold going forward.<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/veXsG1o6umg" width="560"></iframe>Kenneth Schortgen Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04471909868089426959noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641768065620391885.post-24608330488853411192016-11-08T09:15:00.003-07:002016-11-08T09:15:53.253-07:00Brexit II moment for gold and stocks as markets are completely priced in for Hillary victoryElection day 2016 has finally arrived, and it is not only the American people who are preparing for a change in leadership but also the markets. &nbsp;In fact, thanks to a simple press conference done on Sunday by FBI Director James Comey, the markets exploded yesterday with expectations that Hillary Clinton would come out successful in the Nov. 8 vote.<br /><br />But as many analysts have discussed over the past month, the outcome of today's Presidential election could actually trigger a Brexit part deux type event, as stocks, gold, and currencies are completely priced in for a Clinton victory, and this means that today's trading could actually be life changing for individuals if Donald Trump ends up winning.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6OlnfU-VGrM/WCH5xC2k4wI/AAAAAAAAEFE/w035hCY3-5IE6Hryy4_EX3urH4kbaiZPgCLcB/s1600/gold%2Bbar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6OlnfU-VGrM/WCH5xC2k4wI/AAAAAAAAEFE/w035hCY3-5IE6Hryy4_EX3urH4kbaiZPgCLcB/s400/gold%2Bbar.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><blockquote class="tr_bq">Rickards says that Trump "will probably win" and, if he, does stock markets will crash 10% and gold will rise $100 over night.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">The markets and polls believe Clinton will win and that is priced into markets in the same way that a 'Bremain' was priced into markets prior to the 'Brexit' vote.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">“If Hillary wins nothing happens, if Trump wins you will have an earthquake.”&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Should Trump win, which looking at the polls is not an impossibility, gold would likely surge $100 per ounce overnight, says Rickards.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">What Hillary did was appalling and there will be ‘another reckoning on November 8th’ which the market has failed to price in, creating a good scenario for gold. He says you don’t have to agree that Trump will win, but agree that that in reality he could win.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">For Rickards, this is an excellent opportunity for investors, particularly those who have an allocation to physical gold which he believes is set to rise in the coming months and years. - <a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-10-28/trump-%E2%80%9Cwill-probably-win%E2%80%9D-and-gold-%E2%80%9Cmay-rise-100%E2%80%9D-overnight-jim-rickards" target="_blank">Zerohedge</a></blockquote></div><iframe allowscriptaccess="always" frameborder="0" src="https://www.bloomberg.com/api/embed/iframe?id=9a95f1a2-9b8e-498a-9d61-2d42ce5fee94"></iframe>Kenneth Schortgen Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04471909868089426959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641768065620391885.post-79173883770103822962016-11-06T09:06:00.002-07:002016-11-06T09:06:31.023-07:00Moves up in gold and down in stocks over past 10 days signal the markets now believe in a strong Trump victoryFor anyone who has taken the time to watch buying and selling activity in the gold markets over the past month, it was more than obvious that the takedown during the first week of October was both manufactured, and done at a time when the world's biggest physical market (China) was off for a national holiday. &nbsp;And as such, once they returned gold has risen over each of the last four weeks back to above the $1300 support level.<br /><br />But what is perhaps most interesting for the markets in general is the historic declines we have seen over the past 9 days in the Nasdaq and S&amp;P 500, and the 7 days in a row for the Dow, where that measured amount of negative trading has not occurred since 1980. &nbsp;And this is being attributed to the sudden shift in political winds where the markets now strongly believe that Donald Trump will win the election.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Image result for trump accepts gold for deposit" height="225" src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/CrWJUVC-lY4/maxresdefault.jpg" width="400" /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><blockquote class="tr_bq">The S&amp;P 500 ended lower on Friday for a ninth straight day, the longest losing streak for the benchmark index in more than 35 years, as investors stayed on edge ahead of an uncertain U.S. election.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">The tech-heavy Nasdaq also ended lower for a ninth-consecutive session, while the Dow industrials closed down for a seventh straight day.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Investors have been unnerved by signs of a tightening presidential race between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Clinton had been thought to have a clear lead until the re-emergence last week of a controversy over her use of a private email server while secretary of state.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">"Investors are uncertain about the outcome of the election, and they have grown more uncertain since last Friday," said Walter Todd, chief investment officer with Greenwood Capital in Greenwood, South Carolina. - <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks-idUSKBN12Z1CD" target="_blank">Reuters</a></blockquote>The Donald Trump phenomenon is now being paralleled to that of the UK's earlier Brexit vote from back in June, where going into the final day the markets bet heavily on a Remain outcome. &nbsp;And when this did not happen following the vote, stocks, currencies, and bonds all fell drastically, and gold rose by $100 in a single day.<br /><br />Some analysts are expecting more of the same come Tuesday, with equities falling by perhaps 1000 or more points on Wednesday and <a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-10-28/trump-%E2%80%9Cwill-probably-win%E2%80%9D-and-gold-%E2%80%9Cmay-rise-100%E2%80%9D-overnight-jim-rickards" target="_blank">gold going up $100 - $150 if Trump prevails</a>. &nbsp;But this may be just the beginning of a much larger financial crisis since central banks are too hamstrung to deal with another black swan type event.<br /><br /></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XltFW28CNWs" width="560"></iframe>Kenneth Schortgen Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04471909868089426959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641768065620391885.post-36256948162525065072016-11-03T15:21:00.000-07:002016-11-03T15:21:40.677-07:00SDR's for trade between nations, gold for the rest of us when currencies collapseIt is inevitable that the monetary system the world has used over the past 43 years will not only come to an end, but all signs are warning that this end is very near. &nbsp;Going back to 1988, one of the Establishment's primary propaganda publications issued a forecast of a new global currency replacing the dollar by 2018, and here in 2016 we have already seen the beginnings of that currency through the IMF's announcement to circulate the M SDR (Special Drawing Rights) under Chinese authority.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Image result for the economist world currency" src="https://socioecohistory.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/theeconomist-phoenix_get_ready_for_world_currency_by_2018.jpg?w=420&amp;h=579" /></div><br />This means of course that during the transition, all fiat currencies like the Dollar, Pound, Euro, and Yen will experience extreme devaluations, or in some cases like perhaps the Euro, outright elimination.<br /><br />But how long until this actually takes place?<br /><br />A month ago one of the chief architects of the Euro creation back in 1999 published an op-ed on how the currency was flawed, and that its days numbered thanks to the deteriorating confidence and value imposed upon it by the European Central Bank. &nbsp;And as we know in Japan over the past 20 years, the UK in recent months, and through the dumping of dollars by foreigners against the current global reserve, the clock is ticking on whether nations can get together in time to agree upon a way for a global reset, or if greed will bring their inevitable downfall through some global financial crisis.<br /><br />Right now the first or perhaps even primary model for the next global reserve currency already exists, and is being propagated in the markets and in trade. &nbsp;But this currency, known as the SDR, will only be available for nations to trade with one another at a central bank or Ministry level, and this leaves the 99.99% of us dealing with the aftermath of our own money's devaluation.<br /><br />Thus while the world banks and governments prepare for the SDR to save their financial systems, what remains for you and I are the physical forms of money that have been a part of economics from the beginning of civilization.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mOxtHr9ttLE/WBu3fF98BTI/AAAAAAAAEE0/CgU0RM8DBOUzvket-q17SLS5OEKgrEc2wCLcB/s1600/gold%2Band%2Bsilver.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mOxtHr9ttLE/WBu3fF98BTI/AAAAAAAAEE0/CgU0RM8DBOUzvket-q17SLS5OEKgrEc2wCLcB/s400/gold%2Band%2Bsilver.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><blockquote>We’ll soon experience profound problems with the U.S. dollar. I expect to see inflation in some areas, deflation in others. On the world stage, we could see anything up to and including a full-fledged currency crisis.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>Collapse is a calamitous process that destroys wealth like a tsunami hitting a seacoast.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>We’ll see several stages of the collapse play out in any event, because central banks are out of room to steer monetary policy outside of a very narrow channel.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>The Fed didn’t raise interest rates in 2010–11, when it should have bitten down on the proverbial bullet. Now, as the world economy teeters on the edge of major breakdown, the Fed can’t cut rates to boost the economy. Even if the Fed’s traditional rate-cutting medicine worked — and it doesn’t always work — that bottle of economic snake oil is nearly empty.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>Aside from the Fed, other central banks around the world are in even worse shape. Many of them participated in the failed negative interest rate experiment. We can’t look to them for any help at all.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>Sauve qui peut!&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>This will put increased importance on special drawing rights (SDRs), or world money, and gold as possible tools with which to truncate the next collapse. I expect that many nations will use SDRs as a method to protect themselves — certainly the U.S.<br />But if you’re not a country plugged into the central bank, what’s left for us mere mortals? Your best option is to use gold. - <a href="https://dailyreckoning.com/unlock-gold-cycle-gains/" target="_blank">Daily Reckoning</a></blockquote></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/O7sBzDDb8nk" width="560"></iframe>Kenneth Schortgen Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04471909868089426959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641768065620391885.post-19015685180169537172016-11-02T06:22:00.001-07:002016-11-02T06:22:01.087-07:00Gold soars and stocks fall as markets now forecasting a Trump victoryFor the first time since the early October beat down of gold, the precious metal crossed over $1300 per ounce as revelations from the FBI on re-opening the cast against Hillary Clinton has pushed the markets into believing that Donald Trump has a strong shot at becoming the next President of the United States.<br /><br />In Monday's trading, gold rose over $10 and stocks fell to the point that the 18,000 level was breached on the Dow for the first time since August. &nbsp;And in the pre-market today that trend is continuing as gold is up another $10 while stock futures are down another 39 points.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="LA Times" src="http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user230519/imageroot/2016/11/01/2016.11.02%20-%20LA%20TImes_0.JPG" height="219" width="400" /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><blockquote class="tr_bq">In a study released last week the GFMS team at Thomson Reuters concluded that while a Clinton win would not have a dramatic impact on the gold price, a Trump triumph will put pressure on financial markets and the dollar, prompting investors to seek the relative safety of gold:&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">According to GFMS a Trump victory could spark a rally to $1,400 and maybe even $1,500 in our view while a win for Clinton would likely see prices ebb lower. - <a href="http://www.mining.com/tight-race-sparks-gold-price-jump-4-week-high/?utm_source=dlvr.it&amp;utm_medium=twitter" target="_blank">Mining.com</a></blockquote></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Live New York Gold Chart [Kitco Inc.]" src="http://www.kitco.com/images/live/nygold.gif" height="163" width="400" /></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal">World stocks, the dollar and oil fell on Wednesday, while safe-haven assets such as gold and the Swiss franc rose as investors were rattled by signs the U.S. presidential race was tightening just days before the vote.<o:p></o:p></div>Investors were beginning to rethink their long-held bets of a November 8 victory for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton amid signs her Republican rival Donald Trump could be closing the gap, deepening the recent decline across major stock markets. - <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/business/markets/investors-sink-money-gold-other-safe-havens-election-fears-mount-n676716" target="_blank">NBC News</a><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UIRGce-JiNg" width="560"></iframe>Kenneth Schortgen Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04471909868089426959noreply@blogger.com0